Denshattack! Review

Off. The. Rails.

We were scratching our heads on how to kick this review off in terms of a comparable game or set of games to help you know just what Denshattack! is.

A bloody hard task.

See, we could tell you it absolutely is a love-letter to Jet Set Radio that also borrows from the likes of Mario Kart, WipEout and F-Zero, but we could also throw some SSX in there, or even Sonic the Hedgehog when he’s endlessly grinding intricately-designed rails. Maybe, just to flex knowledge, Trackmania can be added to all of the above, too.

Or...

We could tell you it’s an arcade skating game in the guise of an outlandish setup involving acrobatic trains and fearless, charismatic drivers and their Japanese subculture-specific gangs, each controlling sections of the world laden with tonal courses to battle on in an even fresher subculture known as “Denshattack”. We could highlight that this takes place in the not-too-distant future where a climate collapse has allowed a giant corporation to segregate the citizens of Japan in a kawaii-yet-dystopian tale involving huge domes over Japan’s myriad cities and prefectures, and that these ‘Denshattack’ gangs are considered terrorists from inside said domes, but as freedom fighters and even freer spirits outside.

We could also just point out that the Japanese love trains and that Denshattack! is also a love-letter to the country's superior transit system that connects its denizens all over, as well as a not-so-subtle nod to the state of the world right now.

Or...

We could also just tell you this thing is among the most fun we’ve had with a game of this nature in some time and that it might be one of the most thoughtful and enjoyable experiences across all available platforms this year.

Honestly, Denshattack! has the chops to be the absolute best at what it’s trying to do, and while that all might sound like a lot from even the small samples above, it is just so complete and honest in its ambitions, it is an IP that, moving forward, will be impossible to ignore. So, let’s get on board and head to Review Station, Beppu, quicksmart!

Denshattack!

Genre: Trick-Based 3D Platformer

Developer: Undercoders

Publisher: Fireshine Games

Release Date: July 15, 2026

Classification: PG

Author: Stephen Farrelly

Date: July 22, 2026

Ramen Delivery, by Train? How Novel…

The game’s setup really is pretty important to proceedings. Emi Araki, who is our main driver of all aspects of the game, is a young woman living in Ōita Prefecture, Japan in a village called Beppu. She keeps her late grandmother’s ramen business running by running ramen deliveries in her single carriage train, because, you know, dystopian future and all.

"And so an immediate separation of classes was formed: those outside the domes who were more often than not tasked with building them, and the could-haves who now reside within, living in a state of comfort and ignorance..."

You see, in this obviously fictional Japanese setting, a climate catastrophe forced a rapid change in the way people survived; planes were no longer allowed to fly and domes were erected over the country’s biggest -- and most important -- cities. Not everyone could live under them, though, and so an immediate separation of classes was formed: those outside the domes who were more often than not tasked with building them, and the could-haves who now reside within, living in a state of comfort and ignorance. And all under the guiding arm of the Miraido Corporation who uses a cute mole to dole out propaganda about the world outside in an effort to control what happens within.

The outside world, however, is recovering from the catastrophe and with most people not needing transport, Japan’s famous rail network is now an infrastructure hijacked by the forgotten -- Emi being just one of many. And they all love a bit of ‘Denshattack', whether ageing rockabilly with a knack for train engineering, violent girl gangs with an OTT love for baseball or devotees to a washed up pop idol who take a vow of silence in her sonic honour.

Oh, and their ‘denshattacking’ is based entirely on treating said infrastructure like a skate park, and their trains like skateboards.

Would you like to know more?

Emi is first thrust into Denshattack from a chance meeting with Fernando who is an enthusiast, but not a driver himself. Instead, his role is to highlight the underworld nature of denshattack as a cultural phenomenon brought about by the oppressive Miraido Corporation, which simply reeks of similarities between skate and punk culture. He even needs to craft his zines in underground printing presses to avoid being seen. Naturally, however, as you progress and the more content you unlock - per course - for his wares, the more popular it becomes. The beauty is, the more you ride, the more world-built content you unlock and a lot of thought has been thrown into that part, so if you're into that, it's a great and 'thoughtful' unlockable to chase.

Find the Onsen Exit

The above might sound odd given the style of game we have here which is best described, simply, as an on-rails-ish trick-venture 3D platformer. Courses are long and varied and often have numerous paths, and you’ll be jumping on and off tracks to rails, freestyling through tunnels, sliding on ice, riding the occasional on-the-run rollercoaster and even eventually into an otherwise invisible ‘Rainbow Road’-style plane where it feels like anything can happen. And the meat of all of this is points and how you manage each course and attempt to not bail at any given moment (in fact the number one challenge per course and the only constant throughout is a “No Crash Finish").

"You’ll find a handful of collectibles, such as Cogs to spend on upgrades or cosmetics - and eventually whole new trains - spray cans in pure homage to Jet Set Radio..."

Within each course you’ll find a handful of collectibles, such as Cogs to spend on upgrades or cosmetics -- and eventually whole new trains -- Spray Cans in pure homage to Jet Set Radio as well as Camera Film to help your mate Fernando put together his counter-culture series of zines, highlighting the denshattack scene, region-to-region (read our first “Would you like to know more?” box out for… MORE!). There’s also hidden onsen exits within each where we get to explore the characters and some exposition on their motivations, burgeoning or past relationships and just the general state of the world.

Developer Undercoders has remained as mindful of breaking up the pace of everything as possible as it has the speed of its engaging part, which just makes the whole experience feel utterly thoughtful, and well cadenced.

When not in an onsen, however, everything is fast. Furiously fast, actually; coming at you in a decidedly Japanese OTT kind of way, despite the studio not being Japanese at all. But it all works. It feels and looks as arcadey as they come, yet is broken down into myriad parts that promote deep-diving into its world, replayability and adulation for the way in which each course is designed, because at times it’s mind-boggling.

Would you like to know more?

The various trains you get are based on the regions you visit and the designs of the courses within each - but the point here is to allow players to choose a style and risk-reward that suits them. One train might give you great rail balance, but less manual time which can impact your ability to keep a combo going, while another might be generous with sign hits, but less so with your grind sweet-spot. You use the found Cogs throughout to purchase these and then you can also deck them out in stickers and various designs. It's a common-style approach, but still skilfully handled here (tapping into train and skate culture with a punk rock and street art set of lenses).

Multi-Track Mind

What’s equally amazing about the game’s design is it’s not rinse-repeat, which is always the worry with this type of game. The bulk of courses you ride are a start-to-finish type, but then you get these open areas filled with tasks outside of the aforementioned collectibles, each of which is clearly marked, directionally, for you because the game moves so fast. Yet you’ll wind up doing them and once you Neo the experience for yourself and start to see beds, turns, track changes and more in your mind ahead of time, it’ll slow for you.

Figuratively, of course. In other words, you’ll get in the zone.

"From fighting mechs within a city to cracking giant records in a moving castle to slow an engine, there’s no shortage of outlandish creativity here..."

There are also races and outlandish levels filled with nods to other games, with a Guitar Hero one in particular standing out. More often than not these are tied to each region’s boss battles and none of them are ever the same. From fighting mechs within a city to cracking giant records in a moving castle to slow an engine, there’s no shortage of outlandish creativity here, and it’s forever a joy to play. We found ourselves hooked after a while and should point out the length of time you’ll put in is not short. There’s just so much content and so many sights to see, and zines to finish that you’ll find yourself coming back again and again -- especially if you want to “No Crash Finish” every one of them, which is no small feat.

Additionally, manoeuvres and skills are doled out slowly as you play with courses reflecting new abilities. Things like the double-track powerslide are available ahead of the story telling you about them, but your arsenal of trick and ‘line’ potential skills build at a nice and steady clip to the point that when you realise what you can do in a course built with all of them in mind, it could (and might) seem overwhelming. And this is in addition to the various train unlocks on-hand, each of which has a risk-reward twofer attached (see our second “Would you like to know more?” box out for… MORE!), adding further to the replayability we spoke of earlier. And they all look so dang cool.

Pure Style

While Jet Set Radio has been firmly stamped as the game’s set style foundation, and anime and manga aren’t too far away, there’s also a lot of other cool elements going on. The music throughout is based on the themes of a given region and never feels repetitive or off. It’s suitably fast, but never overbearing and just makes that whole "thoughtful" aspect of the overall design here shine even more. Even the layout of Fernando’s zines, as mentioned in our box out, are truly high-end from an art-direction and style perspective, and trust us, we know.

"The only other gripes we could muster were how complex the controls can seem at times as there’s a lot of input to consider..."

Naturally, being an indie joint, it’s never quite perfect, and while it is lo-fi and cel-shaded in its delivery, some elements load in late and we’ve clipped off course a couple of times, but these are small things likely to be fixed down the track. And generally don’t take away from the experience lest you’re chasing that “No Crash Finish” tick, but even then a quick restart is only going to set you back seconds or minutes.

Truly the only other gripes we could muster were how complex the controls can seem at times as there’s a lot of input to consider, hence the slow delivery of skills and manoeuvres, but if points beyond the courses where you’re required to cap a certain number aren’t an issue for you, that’s also not going to be a problem because it’s still just so fun to push through each level that your actually playing abilities don’t matter -- and that’s just another thoughtful aspect of Denshattack!’s entire package.

Punters will likely lament a lack of co-op or multiplayer, but let’s let the dust settle on this first and get the IP and its immediate brilliance out there because for this new adventure, the sky’s literally the limit, Yaoyorozudo-fueled as it is.

What’s Boss?

Thoughtfully constructed game that is more than the sum of its arcade sheen
Deep trick system that taps into Skate's 'flickit' controls
Super-stylish presentation and is entirely self-referential when it comes to its homages, which is good
Fast. Fast. Fast
When you tap the skill-ceiling and know what you're doing and 'own' a course, you feel like a full denshattacker!
A great world-building example of what you can do even if the concept, on paper, is simple
Enormously replayable and rewarding

Not Boss Enough?

Might be too long for some who just want a quick arcade experience
A few moments of glitchiness
The lack of co-op or MP will grind some (not us)

Denshattack! is a Tony Hawk's Pro Skater fever-dream where you 'skate' as a train on abandoned train and city infrastructure in a dystopic future Japan with art and presentation that homages Jet Set Radio. What's not to love?

Learn about our reviews

About the Author

Written By Stephen Farrelly

Stephen Farrelly is a veteran journalist and editor with more than two decades experience in the worlds of gaming, entertainment, lifestyle and sport. He is a proud pug dad, loves art in all forms (particularly street and tattoo culture), and is the director of Swear Jar Editorial and Media Pty Ltd, this site's owner and publisher. When not dispensing words, he's also dispensing boutique beers as a taproom fixture at Bracket Brewing in Marrickville, NSW...

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